Air conditioned sleeping cabinet



Jan. 4, 1938. J. A. coNBolE 2,104,024

. AIR CONDITIONED SLEEPING CABINET Filed Dec. 9, 1935 l@All i# t l y v yl J lavyN-TOR..

BY V

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 4, 1938 t 'rUNiTEDsTA-TES PATENT., OFFICE JsephA.y conbpie, Application December 'I 6 Claims.

This invention relates to an enclosed sleeping cabinet, which isprovided with means for main.- taining a continuous iiow of airtherethrough, together with means for cleaning the-air and for 5regulating its temperature and humidity.

The air conditioned cabinet disclosed in this application is intendedfor treatment of individuals suffering from respiratory diseases, toreduce the temperature of patientssuffering from fever brought about byVarious diseases, and it is also intended for air conditioned and cooledsleeping quarters in climates Where the temperature is too warm forcomfort.

-The object of the present invention is to provide a cabinet to be'occupied by a person for sleeping, or by patients, who are to betreated, which is fully enclosed; to provide means yfor maintaining acontinuous ow of conditioned air through the cabinet; to provide meansfor clean, ing the air and for regulatingits temperature, pressure andhumidity; and; further, to provide means for controlling and directingthe iiow of air through the cabinet.

The cabinet is shown by way of illustration in the accompanying drawing,in which- Fig. 1 is a longitudinal, vertical, section of cabinet;

Fig. 2 is an end view;

Fig. 3 is a lplan view partially in section, the

section being taken on line III-III of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged detail view of the air cleaning portion of theapparatus.

Referring to the drawing in detail, and particularly Fig. l, A indicatesthe interior of a cabinet which is completely enclosed by a bottomsection 2, a top section 3, sides 4 4, and ends"5 and 6. The cabinetcontains a bed l and doors 8 are provided for entrance and exit.

Practically all the apparatus required, for the circulation andconditioning of the air, is housed within the' end of the cabinet`indicated at 6. The apparatus employed comprises a pair of rotaryblowers, or fans, 9 and l0 driven by a common motor positioned betweenthem. 'I 'he suction side of the blower 9 takes vair from a pipe or ductl2 connected with the exterior of a building, the discharge side of theblower connects with a passage I3 which directs the air around a coolerit, said cooler being an ice box or a`refrigerator unit as desired.

The air, after passing around the cabinet it, is directed under it, asshown at i5, and it then passes upwardly into a passage I 6 in the lowerportion of which is mounted a plurality of zigzag shaped plates Il whichfunction to baille the air the'- San Francisco, Calif.

9, 1935, Serial No. 53,487

I9 supplied with water from a tank 20, the iiow' of water beingcontrolled by a valve 2| regulated by a humidistat 22. Theelectricheater I8 is also controlled, a standard form of thermostat 23 beingprovided to make or break the circuit through the heating elements, asconditions may demand.

The humidifier consists of a V-shaped trough into which water from valve2| drops. One side of the trough is covered with a fabric medium andWater delivered to the trough is thus taken up by capillary attractionand las the'air passes over the cloth it `becomes humidied, the amountof humidity imparted to the air being controlled by the humidistat.After the air' has been heated and humidifled, it enters the compartment24 in which is mounted la series of angularly disposed pivoted andadjustable deiecting plates 25, and in front of them are disposed aplurality of closely spaced horizontal directing plates 26, said platesforming passages between them which are covered at one end by apermeablefabric 2l which might be referred to as a diiusing cloth. The air, afterpassing this cloth, enters a chamber 28 which is divided into a seriesoi compartments by means of directing plates 29,' the chambers formedbetween them being again closed by a diifusion cloth or section offabric 30. The air finally passes through this cloth and into thecabinet and it ows in a substantially horizontal path the diffusingcloth and between the directing plates 32, it is directed upwardly bydeflectors 33, which are pivoted and adjustable in a manner similar to'the deflectors 25; these deflectors being adjustable to make it possibleto maintain a uniform suction between the deflectors 32. The air thenpasses through a duct fformed inthe top of the housing and finallyenters a pipe or duct 35 which is connected with' a suction side of theblower Ill. The discharge of the blower is directed into a pipe whichconnects with the exterior of the building, hence, there is a continuoussupply of fresh air passing through the cabinet at all times, said freshair being supplied from the exterior of the building and the depleted orused air being directed to the exterior atmosphere.

The washing of the air to remove dust or any placed adjacent the suctionside of the blower 9.

Bill) Elfi Withinthis housing are mounted a series of rotating paddles.Water is delivered to the housing by means of a pipe l l, this pipebeing connected with any suitablesource of water supply but if ice isemployed in the chamber it may be supplied by the water liberated by theice, said water collecting in a pan in the bottom of the pipe i anddraining from the pan through the pipe il into the housing 40 Where itis beaten up into a spray by means of the revolving arms and, as theincoming air passes through this spray, dust and all foreign matter isremoved. The air, after passing through the blower, is as previouslystated, directed into the passage i3 and then around the cooler it. Anywater carried in suspension should be removed and baffle plates iasimilar to those indicated at Il are disposed in the passage I5 underthe cooler. The air, in passing through and between these plates,impinges against the surface of the same and any moisture carried insuspension will thus collect on said surface and then drain into the panand will return to the housing til] which is provided with an overow toprevent an excessive supply.

No claim is being made in the present instance for the air washercontained within the housing B0, nor for the means for heating andhumidifying the air, as numerous form's of such apparatus can beemployed. The important feature of the present invention isthe apparatusused for drecting, diifusng `and maintaining a uniform ow of air throughthe sleeping compartment of the cabinet. The means employed are thea'djustable deflectors 25 at the end 6. Here the air rst enters thespaced directing plates 26and 29 and the diffusing cloths 21 and 30. Bythis arrangement of deflectors and directing plates and by the use ofthe diffusing cloths a uniform, evenly distributed current of air ismaintained in the cabinet, said air flow being substantially horizontaland being sufficiently slow to prevent the sensation of draft. If thetemperature is substantially normal, that is, neither too warm nor cold,the cooling unit may be entirely cut out. On the other hand, if thecabinet is used in a Warm climate for sleeping purposes the coolingcabinet will obviously be required and it will also be required forpatients being treated for fever. For instance, if the head of thepatient is being treated, a branch suction pipe 50 is employed. Thisconnects with the head of the bed, as shown in Fig. 1, and the other endconnects with the suction pipel 35. A damper is employed, as shown at5|, and is closed when air flow is not required. On the other hand, ifthe patient is feverish and it is desired to cool the head, damper 5| ispartially opened. A portion of the air entering through the cloth 30will then be directed downwardly over the patients head and any desireddegree of cooling may be obtained.

Where the patient requires warming, the air, of course', can be treatedto any degree desired by the electric heating units i8 and by theaddition thereto of one or more radiant type electric heaters which maybe mounted in the top of cabinet, as indicated at 52. These will deflectradiant heat downwardly against the body of the patient andsubstantially any degree of heat may thus be maintained, a shield 54being placed at one endof the radiant heating unit. to prevent directradiation from striking the head of the patient.

aicaofee mounted in the branch, asshbwn at 5l, and by regulating thesedampers part of the air may be recirculated, if desired. Also, byregulation of the dampers the barometric pressure within the cabinet maybe increased or decreased; that is, it may be slightly below atmosphericpressure, or slightly above, this being particularly important in thetreatment of certain respiratory diseases and other ailments. A damperis also indicated at M, see Fig. l, this may be closed and will directall of the air upwardly through the passage it when the cooling unit isnot required and in other instances it may be set at a half way pointand part of the air may be cooled and the other part directed upwardly,etc.

While certain features of the present invention are more or lessspecifically described, I wish it understoodthatvarious changes may beresorted 4to within the scope of the appended claims.

Similarly, that the materials and finish of the several parts employedvmay be such as the manufacturer may decide, or varying conditions or`uses may demand.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent ls:

1. In an enclosed cabinet of the character described having air inletand discharge openings formed at opposite ends thereof, blower actuatedmeans for delivering air to the inlet openings, means mounted in theinlet openings for uniformlydistributing, directing and diffusing theair to maintain the entire body of air flowing at a uniform velocity andin a given direction through the cabinet, said means comprising a pairof spaced diffusingy fabrics covering the inlet openings, air directingmeans between the fabric coverings, stationary air directing meansdisposed between the air delivering means and the diffusion fabrics, andadjustable air directing means cooperating with the last named airdirecting means.

2. In an enclosed cabinet of the character described having air inletand discharge openings formed at opposite ends thereof, blower actuatedmeans for delivering air to the inlet openings, means mounted in theinlet openings for uniformly distributing, directing and diusing the airto maintain the entire body of air flowing at a unlform velocity and ina givendirection through the cabinet, said means comprising a pair ofspaced diffusing fabrics covering the inlet openings, air directingmeans between the fabric coverings, and adjustable air directing meansdisposed between the diffusion fabrics and the air delivering means.'

3. In an enclosed cabinet of the character described having air inletand discharge openings formed at opposite ends thereof, blower actuatedmeans for delivering air to the inlet openings, means mounted in theinlet openings for uniformly distributing, directing and diffusing theair to maintain the entire body of air flowing at a uniform velocity andin a given direction through the cabinet, said means comprising a pairof spaced diffusing fabrics covering the inlet openings, air directingmeans between the fabric coverings, adjustable air directing meansdisposed between the diffusion fabrics and the air delivering means,suction means connected with the dischargey openings, and adjustablemeans disposed between the discharge openings and the suction means tomaintain a uniform suction in the discharge openings.

4. In an enclosed cabinet of the character described having Yair inletand discharge openings formly distributing,

arcanes formed at opposite ends thereof, blower `actuated means fordelivering air to the inlet openings, means mounted in the inletopenings for uniformly distributing, directing and diusing the air tomaintain the entirev body of air owing at a uniform velocity and in agiven direction through the cabinet, said means comprising a pair ofspaced difiusing fabrics covering the inlet openings, air directingmeans between the fabric coverings, adjustable air directing meansdisposed between the diffusion fabrics andthe air delivering means, andmeans for directing a portion of the owing air in another direction.

5. In an enclosed cabinet/ofv the character de-4 scribed having airinlet and discharge openings formed at opposite ends thereof, bloweractuated means for delivering air to the inlet openings, means mountedin the inlet openings for unidirecting and air to maintain the entirebody of air owing at a uniform velocity and ina given direction throughthe cabinet, said means comprising a diffusing fabric covering the inletopenings, statioiiary spaced air directing means disposed in y. at auniform velocity diffusing the iront ofthe fabric, and adjustable airdirecting means cooperating with the stationary means and disposedbetween said stationary means and the air delivering means.

6. In an enclosed cabinet of the character described having air inletand discharge openings formed at opposite ends thereof, blower actuatedmeans for delivering air to the inlet openings, means mounted in formlydistributing, directing and dinusing the air to maintain the entire bodyof air flowing and in a given direction through the cabinet, said meanscomprising a diusing fabric covering the iniet'openings, stationaryspaced air directing means disposed in front ci the fabric, `adjustableair directing means cooperating with the stationary means and disposedbetween said lstationary means and the air delivering means, air suctionmeans connected with the discharge openings, and adjustable meansdisposed between the discharge openings and the suction means tomaintain a uniform suction in the discharge openings.

- JOSWH A. CONBOIE.

the inlet openings for uni-

